Marion County Jail mistakenly sets another inmate free

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By: Liz Gelardi

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Another inmate was let out of the Marion County Jail by mistake. It took three days to find Scott Snyder after he was set free earlier this week. Court records show an arrest warrant was issued one day after his mistaken release.

Police re-arrested him on August 7th and he is now back in jail.

FOX59 also learned two Marion County sheriff's deputies have been placed on leave following a separate incident. The department would not comment because the matter is under investigation.

The Marion County Sheriff's Department came under fire in June when deputies had to track down five inmates who were released by accident. Problems started when the county switched over to new computer system called Odyssey in the beginning of June. A spokesperson blames this latest incident on the new computer system and human error.

"They're human beings and there can be human errors, it's not a totally electronic system and even with the information that they have it's extremely complicated," said Lt. Col. Louis Dezelan.

The sheriff's department explained how the new computer system generated two different cause numbers for Snyder. Lt. Col. Dezelan said workers looked at one of the cause numbers and determined Snyder should be let out.

"The sheriff is working to make sure these misinterpretations don't happen again in the future," said Lt. Col. Dezelan.

FOX59 questioned Lt. Col. Dezelan on June 23rd after three offenders were set free early. At the time, he said the department would take additional steps to prevent any further mistakes.

“They are just double-checking everything from every aspect,” Dezelan said during a previous interview. “We’re going way above and beyond to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.

Marion County Sheriff John Layton was recently named Indiana Sheriff of the year. Candidate Emmitt Carney is running against Layton in November. He called the mistakes unacceptable.

"They can say it's on the computer, they can say it's operator error, bottom line it comes down to him. It's his office, it's his shop. When is somebody going to step up and accept responsibility," said Emmitt Carney, a candidate for Marion County Sheriff.

Carney also claimed the sheriff's department mistakenly released a female inmate. The sheriff's department said the woman was "let out under normal circumstances."

Layton's campaign released the following statement Friday morning:

"Sheriff Layton’s political opponent, who has never worked in a jail, let alone operated a jail, offers apparently false information to the public. Without offering any factual basis, the opponent charges the Marion County Sheriff’s Office with 8 “accidental releases” this year. The statement appears to be false on its face and is believed that this is simply another desperate political tactic by an inexperienced candidate for office. No names, dates, or circumstances are offered to support the claim. Never the less the Sheriff’s Office has initiated an investigation to determine the true facts of the allegations."